Ozwater'18

The Ozwater’18 Conference and Exhibition is Australia’s international water conference and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Run by the Australian Water Association, the annual event is attended by over 4,000 professionals from water utilities to local councils, universities to consultants. This year the conference is being held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre from 8-10 May.

The first official keynote speaker for the conference is Dr Adriana Marais, currently one of the 100 Mars One Project astronaut candidates in the running to move to the red planet in the next decade. As Head of Innovation at SAP Africa she is passionate about exploring innovative applications of emerging technologies to challenges facing the continent.

With nine technical streams in the program, there’s something for everyone. Here are a few highlights. The Excellence in Operations and Asset Management stream will see presentations from organisations such as TasWater on sewer network odour control optimisation, Yarra Valley Water on servicing growth through innovation and collaboration, and Seqwater on protecting critical water supply assets from current and future climate risk.

In the Industry Safety & Wellbeing stream you’ll hear about how to commence and sustain a mentally healthy workplace, virtual reality training solutions for the water sector, and increasing staff engagement with projects. As part of this stream you’ll also get to hear from Melbourne Water on moving towards a generative safety culture on a major capital works program.

The Trends and Opportunities in Governance, Policy, Regulation & Structure stream will see presentations from organisations such as CSIRO on scenario planning for an uncertain future, EY on how the water sector is creating sustainable communities, and the Victorian Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning on getting investment right.

In the Community Health and Wellbeing stream you’ll be able to broaden your understanding on improved drinking water management, emerging contaminants and micropollutants, and operational compliance. In the Supporting Rural and Remote Areas stream you’ll learn about smart asset investment, securing safe drinking water in regional communities using technology, and public amenity risks.

The Working with Customers stream will include presentations from Queensland Urban Utilities on improving the customer experience, Yarra Valley Water on their citizens’ jury, and KPMG on what the Australian water sector can learn from the global experience.